$ox bid is corporate welfare

This month, days after Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, taxpayers face the deadline to file their tax returns, and I don’t think even White Sox great and Peoria-area Hall of Famer Jim Thome could persuade Illinoisans to embrace Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s request for $1 billion to build another ballpark.

And Thome’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

I’m not sure about Reinsdorf.

Reinsdorf’s idea is to partner with developer Related Midwest to build a new stadium on a 62-acre vacant space called The 78 with a hotel, office complex, restaurants, 5,000 residential units, and a 4,000-space parking garage. He’d also abandon Guaranteed Rate Field (GRF), owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA), which still owes a reported $50 million on the stadium. The Sox’ lease for GRF is through 2029.

Awkwardly, Reinsdorf went to Springfield to plead his case the day before Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address, and says he needs more revenue than gate receipts and overpriced concessions – like fees to park in his proposed garage.

In 1981, Reinsdorf and the late Eddie Einhorn bought the Sox and the original Comiskey Park that opened in 1910 and renovated it in the’80s. But “Reinsdorf began lobbying for a new ballpark just eight years after his new Comiskey Park uprooted a neighborhood at $150 million in public expense,” wrote Joana Cagan and Neil deMause in their 1998 book “Field of Schemes.”

In 1988, the General Assembly “stopped the clock” to prevent the Sox from moving to Tampa/St. Petersburg by giving Reinsdorf some $200 million to replace the “new” Comiskey. GRF’s construction and renovations in 2001-2007 cost $485 million, adjusted for inflation.

Recent rumors had the ChiSox moving to Nashville.

Most studies say subsidies aren’t supported by claims of economic development, job creation or promised growth. Using public funds to enrich private ventures by wealthy owners takes money from infrastructure, public services and other needs.

“Research indicates that state and local subsidies for professional sports franchises generally are not economically justified,” wrote Daniel J. Lathrope in South Texas Law Review in 1997. “There are several reasons. First, despite public perceptions, a professional sports franchise has only a small total economic effect, about the same as that of a new department store. Second, the impact studies typically used to support public expenditures on sports facilities are flawed. The increased spending and economic development produced by a new facility is exaggerated. The impact studies generally assume that increased stadium revenue represents a corresponding expansion in the local economy; however, it is more logical to assume that a large portion of such spending is being shifted from other activities in the city or surrounding area."

In The Atlantic, Rick Paulus agreed.

“Pro sports teams are bad business deals for cities, and yet, cities continue to fall for them,” he wrote. “Construction on the stadium might be performed by local workers, but it might not. Even if the construction workers are local, their gigs last only a few years. Afterward, all that remains are the jobs inside the stadium –ticket sellers, vendors, janitorial staff – which are low-paid, seasonal and few.”

Nationally, the median, or midpoint, for stadium subsidies is $500 million, up from $350 million in 2010.

“This is without exception,” said J.C. Bradbury, a Kennesaw State University economics professor who’s researched the issue. “It’s really across the board that these are really poor public investments.”

Taxpayers must be skeptical and surely resent paying for a billionaire’s investing in real-estate instead of his team.

Reinsdorf, 88, has a net worth of $2.4 billion, Forbes magazine said in January.

That’s a lot of money.

Take a second.

If you count 1 million seconds, it will take 11.5 days. Counting to billion would take 31.7 YEARS.

Government responsibilities should be about roads, schools, libraries, public safety, etc.

“I think I’ve been really clear about the fact that the taxpayers’ dollars are precious and the idea of taking taxpayer dollars and subsidizing the building of a stadium as opposed to, for example, subsidizing the building of a birthing center, does not seem like the stadium ought to have higher priority,” Pritzker’s said.

Maybe Reinsdorf ask wouldn’t come directly from state coffers. The ISFA would sell bonds, and Reinsdorf could repackage bonds and use a sales taxing district and sleight-of-hand Tax Increment Financing, iintended for “blighted” areas.

Meanwhile, the Red Stars women’s soccer team and the Bears also hope for new stadiums, and the Cubs say they need government help to qualify for hosting an All-Star Game.

Aren’t we at a tipping point?

Are there options? In Washington a bipartisan bill, the No Tax Subsidies for Stadiums Act, cosponsored by Sens. Jim Lankford (R-Okla.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is stalled in the Senate. How about a statewide referendum? Or a box on state tax returns where taxpayers could check if they’re OK with X-percent of their taxes going to Reinsdorf?

“Let me see if I have this straight,” commented State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). “Billionaire businessman doesn’t like the last stadium we built for him and wants us to pay for a new one.

“I don’t think we should be subsidizing successful billionaire businessmen. Period.”

Construction booming, but workers needed

U.S. construction nationally is experiencing somewhat of a boom, shown in several months of growth. However, more workers are needed to meet the demand, according to new research.

The three most recent surveys by the Census Bureau show not only about $2 trillion of total monthly activity, but month-to-month growth each month, from 0.2% to 0.9%. Even with residential housing starts dropping 14% from December to January – mostly due to inclement weather and contractor reluctance to build on speculation with the Federal Reserve not lowering interest rates affecting mortgages – the construction industry is robust from coast to coast.

And in west-central Illinois.

“I know home builders have commented that builders haven't been building due to material costs and uncertainty in building spec houses,” comments Jimmy Dillon, Associate Director of the West Central Building & Construction Trades Council. But “the numbers provided by the U.S. Census Bureau are probably very similar around here.”

Overall nationwide residential construction showed improvements from last year in November (+3.7%), December (+6.8%) and January (+5.2%). See chart below.

Nevertheless, growth could be even better since activity is slowed by a lagging labor force.

“If there are fewer workers available, construction takes longer,” said Lily Roberts, managing director for inclusive growth at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

The country needs about 7 million more homes to house everyone who needs shelter. But to build all those homes, experts say, America would need many more construction workers.

However, construction’s work force has been adversely affected by a series of factors: Some 30% of construction’s labor force was lost in the Great Recession of 2008, report economists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Utah; other losses came during the COVID pandemic (generally from late 2019 through early 2022), and a slew of retirements, recorded by the National Center for Construction Education and Research, which noticed that about one-fifth of construction workers are 55 years old or older.

Also, a crackdown on immigration dating to the Obama administration has contributed to the shortfall of workers, the university economists say, and about two-thirds of construction companies report many job applicants just don’t have the necessary skills.

Some states, including Illinois, are responding by funding apprenticeships, investing in community college programs and offering grants to help certain industries, all hoping to build a stream of skilled construction workers, according to Robbie Sequeira of Stateline news.

In metro Peoria, “local schools have put a new effort towards Career technical Education programs instead of just trying to send kids to college,” Dillon says. “Dr. Sheila Quirk Bailey at Illinois Central College has spoken a lot about the need for credentials, [and] the trades have been spending a lot of time and effort recruiting at schools.

“Some training schools have had less people applying than they have had in years past,” he continues. “There are also a lot of employers offering good middle-class jobs out there – all competing for the same workers.”

Quirk Bailey, ICC’s President, this winter introduced an Advanced Placement: AP Workforce initiative in cooperation with Illini Bluffs High School, Pekin Community High School, Peoria Public Schools, the Peoria Regional Office of Education, SkillsUSA Illinois, the West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council and Illinois Central College, all to centralize work-based learning experiences for high school students to address workforce shortages and provide students with pathways to good jobs post-graduation.

“The consortium’s AP Workforce initiative will result in a regional work-based system designed to improve college and industry credential attainment, employment rates, and earnings through a centralized hub that will scale equity-driven work-based learning and apprenticeships throughout the Central Illinois region,” said Quick Bailey. “Industries of focus include health care, construction, HVAC, industrial maintenance/manufacturing, and information technology. 

“The Advanced Placement: AP Workforce initiative will be a game changer for this region,” she continued. “Instead of an increasing number of our high school graduates pursuing no options post high school to secure their future, the AP Workforce initiative will ensure these students gain work-based experiences and college credit, graduate and transition to apprenticeships that ensure their futures.”

 

Construction grew over last few months

Growth from previous month

                                     November                  December                   January

Total                             $2 trillion (+0.4%)       $2 trillion (+0.9%)        $2.1 trillion (+0.2%)

Private                         $1.5 trillion (+0.7%)     $1.6 trillion (+0.7%)     $1.6 trillion (+0.1%)

Public                           $455 billion (+0.7%)    $476 billion (+1.3%)    $479 billion (+0.9%)

 

Percentage growth from last year by project type

                                       November                  December                   January

Residential                     +3.7%                         +6.8%                        +5.2%

Religious                        +31.1%                       +31.3%                      +23.5%

Highway/street                +15.3%                     +25.9%                       +22.2%

Manufacturing                +59.1%                      +0.5%                         +36.6%

 Source: U.S. Census’ “Value of Construction Put in Place Survey,” seasonally adjusted annual rates

AFL-CIO launches ‘Modernizing the Movement’ initiative

The AFL-CIO is launching an initiative to upgrade Central Labor Councils and the U.S. workers represented by groups such as the West Central Illinois Labor Council.

Approved at the labor federation’s national convention, it’s starting as a pilot project, Illinois is one of six states at the forefront of the plan, along with Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey and Texas.

“There’s going to be change,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, visiting the West Central Illinois Labor Council meeting at the UAW hall last month.

“It’s hard to change after 66 years,” he added. But “you have to change to get better. We have not changed much since the AFL and CIO merged in 1958, and think about what the labor movement looked like then and what it looks like now.”

“Modernizing the Movement” will organize around principles expressed in its Value Statement.

The key areas the plan is focusing on are Alignment, Effective Political Programs, Crisis Response & Management, Strong Legislative Advocacy, Community Engagement, and Organizing & Mobilization.

Drea said organizing labor in Illinois showed its potential power in organizing and mobilizing to approve the state’s Workers’ Rights Amendment referendum in 2022.

“Between 16% and 17% of Illinois workers are union,” he said, “but we get about 22% of the vote. For the Workers’ Rights Amendment, we got 58% of the vote for passage.”

Some of that campaign’s energy came from the state’s 21 Central Labor Councils, but their influence varies from place to place. Some CLCs represent six or more counties; some are a single county.

“In a few cases, we want to help put some life into them and improve them,” Drea said. “West Central Illinois is a major player. We appreciate you. We know your involvement is a labor of love.”

Along with the key areas are updating day-to-day structures, so the AFL-CIO is suggesting clarifications to by-laws, annual reports and the political-endorsement process.

“We want transparency for affiliate [unions],” he said. “And we have to get on the same page.”

Drea anticipates the first changes will be enacted in the second half of this year, and the pilot project will finish in about 18 months.

A possibility is to have a few union staff statewide committed to the effort, Drea said.

“If we could get staff from affiliate [international unions], that would be a Godsend,” he said.

In other business, the Labor Council heard from two candidates.

* Morgan Phillips, of Lostant in LaSalle County, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois State Representative from the 105^th District. The daughter of an American Federation of Teachers member, Phillips said she wants to concentrate on better conservation assistance for farmers and to “vote for the future – to consider how actions today will affect our future beyond the next election.”

* Retired UAW member Marci McCann introduced herself as the Democratic candidate running against Republican incumbent Republican Nate Hoerr in District 8 on the Peoria County Board District 8. It’s McCann’s first attempt at running the public office.

Peoria’s AFSCME school-bus staffers reach agreement

 Peoria Local 3716 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees late last month reached a Tentative Agreement with Peoria Public School for a three-year contract that includes yearly wage increases of 5%, 4.5% and 4%, finally settled with the involvement of PPS Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat.

Facing pay and insurance costs behind the rest of the District’s workers, AFSCME met at the bargaining table about 15 times, according to Nick Richards, a Staff Representative with AFSCME Council 31.

“We’d been going back and forth on different issues but were met with great resistance [from PPS’ negotiators],” Richards said.

The difference may have been a conversation between Local President Tim Sullivan and Desmoulin-Kherat.

“The last time, there was a feeling there wasn’t enough,” Richards said, “especially for wages for the drivers and monitors. The union really helped [the District] during COVID, and the superintendent appreciated that and said to contact her if it would ever help. So we made that call, had a sidebar-meeting and conversation, and slowly closed the gap [in bargaining].”

The proposed settlement – which at press time had no ratification vote scheduled – also includes some retroactive pay and a $1,000 retention bonus payable in June, said Richards, who added that another key was improvement in health insurance.

“We’ll now fall in line with the rest of the district,” he said.

Before, the district paid $5,279 for a single worker, and that was increased to about $6,300. PPS formerly paid $8,146 for family coverage, and that will become about $15,000. Also, the district will pay about $10,000 for a single worker and a spouse. A 2% annual increase also is built in.

The previous contract expired last June.

'Court jester' calls BS on Trump

More than 40% of union households voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but it’s hardly inevitable that 2024 will see that happen again.

First, although Trump has claimed to have an approval rating among Republicans of more than 90%, in virtually every GOP primary, between 25% and 40% of ballots were for someone else, points out long-time conservative Republican, prosecutor, Marine and commentator Ron Filipkowski.

Also, his support by union households, according to exit polling by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research was 43% in 2016 and 40% in 2020, so it fell – before organized labor’s resurgence in recent years.

Lastly, Trump has done so much in the last four years.

And sometimes it takes a “court jester” to call BS on the powerful.

This month, after Super Tuesday’s primaries in 16 states, late-night TV comic Seth Meyers offered a reminder of the 77-year-old White House contender:

“Donald Trump is now the presumptive GOP nominee for president, again, for a third time, despite the fact that he’s a twice-impeached, four-time criminal indictee and racist, who has been found liable for fraud and sexual abuse, banned from doing business in the state of New York for three years, owes over half a billion dollars in fines, took millions from foreign governments while he was President, tried to extort a foreign country to interfere in an election in 2020 and encouraged another to help him win in 2016…

“actively undermined the nation’s response to a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and let a deadly disease spiral out of control, is about to go on trial for breaking campaign finance laws by paying hush money to cover up an affair during the 2016 campaign …

“orchestrated a months-long coup attempt that culminated in a violent insurrection to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and install him as an unelected dictator, stole classified documents and obstructed attempts to get them back, has never once won the popular vote and has been routinely rejected by a majority of Americans in election after election …

“spews deranged conspiracy theories about everything from climate change to immigration, to vaccines to windmills, glitches on three-syllable words, two-syllable words and one-syllable words, cheats at golf, can’t spell his own name, his wife’s name or the words ‘indicted,’ ‘education,’ ‘unprecedented,’ ‘stolen,’ ‘Denmark,’ ‘Kentucky’ or ‘tap’ …

“and is, on top of everything else, the single weirdest and most off-putting human being on the face of the f***ing planet – and this is the same planet Ted Cruz lives on, so that’s saying something.

“I’m sorry but this, this guy, this guy’s not a real person. He’s a glitching [Non Player Character] from a video game. He makes less sense than a f***ing Sim. If you put four walls around him without a door, he’d just forget to eat and pass out. Soon we’re gonna see him at a rally just running headfirst into a wall.”

 

Hopefully, it will be a blue wall built by everyday Americans.